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Updated on: May 22, 2026 / 12:01 AM EDT
/ CBS News
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Washington — The Democratic National Committee on Thursday released a long-awaited autopsy on the 2024 election that party chair Ken Martin has kept under wraps for months, bowing to pressure to unveil a document that has become a source of consternation for many Democrats."How, we all asked, could Democrats have lost to Donald Trump again? How did we blow through billions of dollars? And where do we go from here?" Martin said in a statement announcing the release. "When I commissioned a comprehensive review of the 2024 election, I started a process to answer those questions while interrogating where our party has systemically and historically fallen short."But Martin said he is "not proud" of the final product because it "does not meet my standards." He said he was releasing it because "transparency is paramount."The release followed months of pressure from other Democrats. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told Martin in a phone conversation last week he was not happy that the party hadn't released the autopsy, according to sources familiar with the call. That comment surprised Martin and may have helped propel Thursday's release. NBC News was first to report on the call between Martin and Shapiro, who is widely viewed as a potential 2028 presidential contender.The final document is 192 pages long, and includes this disclaimer on every page: "This document reflects the views of the author, not the DNC. The DNC was not provided with the underlying sourcing, interviews, or supporting data for many of the assertions contained herein and therefore cannot independently verify the claims presented."There are also editorial notes throughout the document reading "no sourcing provided," "contradicts public reporting" and "inconsistent with data in chart." Sources familiar with the report confirmed to CBS News that the author was Democratic strategist Paul Rivera. On a DNC call Thursday, Martin said that Rivera is no longer working for the committee, sources familiar with the call confirmed to CBS News. "When I received the report late last year, it wasn't ready for primetime. Not even close. And because no source material was provided, fixing it would have meant starting over, from the beginning — every conversation, every interview, every data set," Martin said.
